The Legacy of Audre Lorde and Contemporary Feminist Organizations Rachel A
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McNair Scholars Journal Volume 10 | Issue 1 Article 5 2006 Confronting the Concept of Intersectionality: The Legacy of Audre Lorde and Contemporary Feminist Organizations Rachel A. Dudley Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair Recommended Citation Dudley, Rachel A. (2006) "Confronting the Concept of Intersectionality: The Legacy of Audre Lorde and Contemporary Feminist Organizations," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol10/iss1/5 Copyright © 2006 by the authors. McNair Scholars Journal is reproduced electronically by ScholarWorks@GVSU. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ mcnair?utm_source=scholarworks.gvsu.edu%2Fmcnair%2Fvol10%2Fiss1%2F5&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages Confronting the Concept of Intersectionality: The Legacy of Audre Lorde and Contemporary Feminist Organizations ABSTRACT Introduction Audre Lorde was one of many women Feminist organizations play a pivotal to criticize second wave feminism for role in the survival of the feminist overlooking issues of intersectionality. movement. They are central sites for This paper examines the ways in which creating activism and furthering feminist Lorde introduced intersectionality into praxis (Baumgardner 2005). As such feminist discourse and how feminist they can demonstrate to the researcher organizations embrace this concept today. Five organizations are examined (National how important theoretical concepts, Organization for Women, Grand Valley such as intersectionality, actually State University Women’s Center, Ms. manifest when put into practice. This Foundation, Third Wave Foundation, research defines intersectionality as a and Guerilla Girls) by interviewing tool for analysis, advocacy and policy representatives and/or evaluating websites to development that addresses multiple assess organizational mission, vision, values discriminations and helps us understand and practices. Analyses reveal that all five how different sets of identities impact organizations have specific policy statements access to rights and opportunities.1 addressing intersectionality. This research can This brings us to the question at the conclusively say that intersectionality is at center of this research: have feminist least considered by all of the organizations. organizations confronted the concept Rachel A. Dudley Determining whether or not the current of intersectionality within their work? McNair Scholar intervention strategies are effective for women experiencing overlapping oppressions In other words, do they account for the is beyond the scope of this study. The different multidimensionality of women’s lives rhetoric used by each organization to address while fighting for economic, political the intersectional issue, however, suggests and social equality? Furthermore, has that intersectionality is “applied” or put into confronting intersectionality become practice differently by different organizations. a central tenet of feminist organizing? These are the guiding questions of this research because they help to assess whether this particular concept has gone from the margin to the center of the mainstream feminist radar. These questions also bring us closer to an understanding of how concepts deemed important by a small group can become permanently relevant within feminism and by extension within society. Audre Lorde, perhaps better than anyone else, articulated an experience of overlapping oppressions and generated scholarship that helped make feminism pay attention to these issues. She was a self-defined Black, lesbian, feminist, mother and poet warrior who refused to live a single-issue life and therefore called for a multi-issued feminist Dennis Malaret, Ph.D. Marshall Battani, Ph.D. movement (Lorde 1984). This research Faculty Mentor Faculty Mentor uses Lorde as a representative voice for 1 This particular definition was taken from the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, Women’s Rights and Economic Change: Intersectionality a Tool for Gender and Economic Justice, by Alison Symington (2004). After synthesizing many definitions of this concept, the above definition seemed to most accu- rately capture the concept as it is meant in this research. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 10, 2006 37 all women who articulated comparable structural and dynamic (e.g., active) and ‘EMS personnel’ is the purpose of positions (such as Gloria Anzaldua, aspects of multiple discrimination, thus this research. Cherrie Moraga and Barbara Smith) on affecting both theory and practice” Within the historical development of the need within feminism to confront (Morgan 2003 p46). This requires feminism, intersectionality is a concept intersectionality. She is isolated because looking at interactive discriminatory that was deeply examined in the second her life and works help to focus feminist structures that set the grounds for more wave (Kolmer, Bartkowski 2005). The discussion around the complexity of active displays of marginalization. Or as second wave refers to an era of feminism identity thus providing potent examples Crenshaw puts it, “[h]ow discrimination occurring between the early 1960s to of why intersectionality is an important is structured and how it works” the early 80s (Pilcher, Whelehan 2004). feminist issue.2 (Morgan 2003 p46). For example, a It addressed issues like reproductive All of Audre Lorde’s published Black, female, single, welfare-recipient freedom, abortion rights, access to materials are consulted to explore the is crippled by power hierarchies that jobs, equal pay for equal work, and ways in which she conceptualized her privilege the White, male, married, the personal as political. This era of status as an “outsider” and critiqued middle class experience over hers. She feminism was largely seen as a suburban feminism for overlooking intersectional is also vulnerable to specific policies white women’s movement. Women of issues. Additionally, important works that enforce and compound her color–Black, Latina, Native American about Lorde that are written or edited domination. Using the metaphor of and Asian women–were often very by other authors are examined. Next, an intersection is useful in illustrating critical of what has commonly been the research attempts to assess Lorde’s how these different oppressive identity referred to as the “mainstream, White legacy on feminist organizing. The point markers are not mutually exclusive women’s movement” (2004).5 However, is not to theorize an explicit nexus (Morgan 2003). Feminism as a truly women like feminist scholar Benita Roth between current feminist practice and inclusive and libratory movement must would kindly remind us that women Lorde’s influence. Instead, the point is reach the multiply oppressed and learn of color had feminist movements to explore whether or not feminism has from them about the complexity of of their own that were occurring been responsive to critiques about the their circumstances. Crenshaw uses the simultaneously. So it was not as if oversight in intersectional issues and specific example of a traffic intersection women of color were begging entry into to offer an example of someone who to explain the various dimensions of this mainstream movement. They were was among the first to purpose their intersectionality. For example, she says, often participating in their own separate significance in the late 20th century.3 forms of feminism. Still, women of color The following feminist organizations Staying with our metaphor of did feel marginalized by the lack of were examined: National Organization intersections and traffic, it’s crucial to attention paid to issues like race, class, for Women (NOW), Grand Valley understand that the ‘ambulances’ and and sexual orientation within the white State University Women’s Center, Ms. ‘EMS personnel’ necessary to aid the women’s movement. Foundation, Third Wave Foundation, victims of these collisions–constituent One of the most prolific and and Guerilla Girls. There is a specific communities, liberation movements, important women to emerge as a logic to this sample that reflects a desire progressive activists–often don’t reach second wave critic was Audre Lorde. for diverse and esteemed representation the collision victims on time, or at It is important to isolate her from the while also being cognizant of time and all, or may be insufficiently equipped chorus of women of color critics for four resource constraints.4 to make the right diagnosis for full key reasons: 1) Lorde was a figurehead rescue and remedy. for Black lesbian feminism; 2) she left Audre Lorde’s Legacy (Morgan 2003 p. 50) an accessible canon; 3) she explicitly Black feminist scholar, Kimberly celebrated difference; and 4) she was Crenshaw explains intersectionality Whether feminist organizations have marginalized in multiple ways. as, “a means of capturing both the learned to be effective ‘ambulances’ 2 Lorde was also selected because her identity markers are similar to those of the researcher and the personal has always served as an interesting and legiti- mate starting point for feminist scholarship. 3 Women like Sojourner Truth did this work in the 19th century (see Kolmar) 4 The logic of selecting each organization will be further explained later (see section on Methods) 5 It is important to note that the term “women of color” has recently come under scrutiny because it conflates all of these complex identities/histories into one and assumes that